Apparatus for mixing materials



Feb- 23, 1965 M. PHIsTER. JR.. ETAL 3,170,677

APPARATUS FOR MIXING MATERIALS Original Filed Aug. 19, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fmxuddOlrAw x52 22N. 442i New@ INV ENT ORS A 1ro/a N5 Y MonraoME/zy PH/aTE/QM. RALPH B. Co/v/v AON .COI OO J4P ZOrrUmddOU United States Patent Office 3,170,677 Patented Feb. 23, 1965 4 Claims. (Cl. 259-154) This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Serial No. 755,989, tiled August 19, 1958, by Ralph B. Conn et al. entitled Method and Apparatus for Mixing Materials, which application: is now abandoned.

This invention relates to apparatus for mixing materials and, more particularly,r to apparatus for producing high` quality compositions by means of a novel correction procedure.

The invention has been devised to solve the difficult problem of mixing raw materials having. variable properties and/ or quantities of certain elements or compoun'dswhich are required in a nal mixture. In'particular the present description will concern itself with the mixing problems involved in the preparation of cement or the blending of gasoline. In each of these cases the proper mixture of chemical compounds or elements is known for a given quality of composition; however, the mixing process is complicated by the fact that the percentages of compounds or elements which are desired in the final mixture may vary considerably in the raw materials which are used.

Inl the conventional cement mixing practice a so-called mix chemist is employed to adjust the feed rates of the raw materials which are to be mixed. These feed rates are set by the mix chemist on the basis of his experience and then are adjusted after making certain measurements as to the percentages of elements or compounds in the mix. In otherwords the quality of the mixture is almost entirely a function of the reliability of the mix chemists experience and his ability to make adjustments after measurement.

In practice the conventional approach has made it diicult to product high-quality mixtures without a considerable loss of tirnein making the necessary adjustments. Furthermore, even the presence of an ideal mix chemist whol is theoretically infallible cannot solve the problem of sudden changes in rawmaterial composition. The net result in the cement industry as an illustrative case is that high quality cement cannot be produced efficiently at` a high rate and excessive storage space is required to permit the adjustment of poor mixes.

The invention contemplates a novel correction apparatus for mixing which isadapted to produce high-quality mixtures at high speed. According to the invention a raw mirris prepared and then analyzed to determine the percentages of the `compounds or elements thereinwhich are required for the finaly mix. At thesame time a set of" correction materials, which may be the same as the basic materials used to form the raw mix, are analyzed toY determine the percentages of the desired compounds or elements therein. The results of the correction material andl raw` mix' analysis are then utilized to determine the amounts and types of correction material which must be added4 to the raw mix to compensate for excesses or deficiencies of compounds or elements desired therein, and `thereby produce a perfect mixture.

While* in theory thecorrection materials may be the same as the basic raw materials used in the raw mix, in practice it may be preferred to provide special correctionmaterials which are essentially complementary to the expected :content of the raw mix. That is, where the raw materiallis believed to have a relatively high content of a compound, such as magnesium oxide used in the cement making process, the corresponding correction` material is selectedv to have a relatively -low content of magnesiilm oxide. In a typical cement mixing process according to the present invention, for example, thecorrection materials may be: 1) high-magnesium limestone; (2) low-magnesium limestone; ('3) iron oxidegand (4) clay or dilution.

In the case of cementk mixing, for example, the invention may be practiced with apparatus where samples of theraw mix and correction materials are fedw to anX-rayk emission spectroscope. The spectroseope then emits X- rays of characteristic wavelengths` which provide an accurate measure of the amount of element or compound present. These wavelengths may then be measured' with a geiger or proportional counter. y

The X-ray count, representative of element or compound percentages, may be fed automatically to a cornputer which is arranged to solve certain fundamental equations defining the amounts of'correction material lto be transferred to the raw mix. It is also contemplated by the invention, however, that analytical' equipment, such' as the X-ray machine just described,v may be operated: to provide an answer which is fed into the cornputer by an operator.

It will be shown in the detailed description which follows that mixing in accordance with the invention not only permits the highly accurate mixing of raw materials having varying contents of desiredf compounds or elements, but also makes possible a high-speed correction technique whereby a continuous streamk of raw materials may bemixed. Theresult, furthermore, is a composition havingv constituents proportioned to a degree of accuracy never before possible. Consequently high-quality compositions are produced rapidly and` at lowcost.

Accordingly it is an object of the present inventionfrto provide an improved apparatus for mixing raw materials having variable contentsy of particular compounds and/or elements to obtain a composition wherein these compounds and/or elements are'contained inany desired percentages.

Another object of the inventionl is to provide a rigorous control for mixing materials to produce an optimum` quality mixture.

A further object is to provide apparatus for mixing` chemicals or other raw materials toprovide a highlquality product economically and with minimum necessity for human intervention.

Yet a further objectl is-to providea raw material mixing apparatus which does not require-the time and-cost of a skilled mix chemists supervision.

Stillv another object is to provide apparatus for automatically mixingy chemicals to producean accurate mixture of' certain elements and/.or compounds.

Yet another object is to provide apparatus for mixingV materials with means for automatically salvaging by-products and/or waste products.

A specificobject is .to provide a novel apparatus for correcting vfor deficiencies or excesses in elements or'cornpounds in a preliminary composition to produce a final composition.

Another specific object is to minimize the amount of' timer and storage space required for'rriixing raw' materials.

The novelfeatures which" are believedtobe'characteristie of the invention, both" as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages-thereof, will'be better understood from the following description considered-in connection with the accompanyingdrawings. It is to be expressly understood,` however, that the drawings are for the purpose of illus'- ander? tration and description onl and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a typical process performed according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a block diagram illustrating the general form of apparatus in accordance with the invention; and

FIGURE 3 illustrates in further detail suitable apparatus for performing mixing corrections according to the present invention.

Reference is now made to FIGURE l where the correction technique of the invention is illustrated with particular reference to the manufacture of cement. As indicated, raw material 160 which may have been obtained from a mine or quarry is conveyed by suitable means to grinding mechanisms a l10n (n is used to indicate that the number of grinding mechanisms is variable). The ground material is then stored in appropriate bins: bin :1 for correction materials; and bin 12911 for raw mix. Each bin may have a plurality of partitions for separating the materials therein as desired. An operators control is indicated associated with bin 12015 for forming the raw mix which is then ground in a second step by mechanism and then conveyed to a suitable storage device such as silo 150.

In addition a flow of material is indicated along line to grinding mechanism 160 and thence to storage bins 165. As illustration of appropriate correction materials for the cement manufacturing process these correction materials are indicated to be: (l) high inagnesium limestone; (2) low magnesium limestone; (3) iron oxide; and (4) clay.

Simultaneously with the correction material flow just described the raw mix may be further refined by a third grinding step in mechanism and then is stored in bin 175. At this point the flow of all material, both raw mix and correction material passes through an analysis step 180. During this phase of operation each correction material is analyzed as is also the raw mix, in order to determine the percentage of the oxides of calcium, iron, magnesium, silicon, and aluminum, therein. It will be understood, of course, that in other processes the analysis may be performed for elements or compounds other than oxides.

The results of step are then passed on to a computer which is arranged to solve certain simultaneous equations introduced below which define the correction control feature of the inveniton. This solution then indicates the amount of each correction material which must be added to the raw mix. Following the computing step a transfer of materials to raw mix storage bin 175 is made according to the computing results.

In addition it will be noted that a flow of dust and residue is indicated to the analysis step 180 and the computing step 185 indicates an amount for transfer to raw mix storage 175. This is intended to indicate that dust and residue may, as Well as the correction materials, be utilized to modify the raw mix until it is properly proportioned in the desired compounds or elements.

While the invention is principally described by considering the particular details of the cement process, it will be understood that the particular application is not intended as a limitation of the invention since it may benelicially be applied to many other processes such as the blending of gasoline, the manufacture of steel and of other alloys, the manufacture of glass, andV the making of certain types of foods, and is especially advisable in processes which must meet fairly rigid specifications in the percentages of compounds or components therein.

The extent of the control problem solved by the invention is clearly illustrated by considering the range of variations of oxides in the raw materials used in the manufacture of cement. This is set forth in Table I below.

TABLE I [Cement making process] Material Si02, A1203, F0203, CaO, MgO,

percent percent percent percent percent Limestone 025 0-5 0-2.4 :3D-54.4 0-10 3040 2-18 1-5 3-35 O. 5-3, 0 l-ti 0-4 75-95 0-6 0-8. 5

Quartzite 8?05 1-3 1-3 0-3 0-1 It will be noted in particular in Table I that the percentage of MgO in limestone Varies from 0 to 10%. Since this percentage is very important in determining the quality of the iinished cement, and since it also in' lluences the useful yield from the quarry, it is evident that something must be done to compensate for an excess on' a deliciency of this compound.

A similar problem arises in the blending of gasoline" where the output from a thermal cracking plant, a catalytic cracking unit, a polymerization plant, and straight run gasoline of low octane quality may be blended to obtain the desired gasoline output. Each of the input quantitions has a variable amount of certain chemicals, elements, or other properties, which are desired in the output mixture. Some means must be provided then for compensating for excesses or deficiencies in the desired chemical compounds or elements.

It will be understood, of course, that While the process of the invention is concerned with the mixing of materials, the control may be employed to achieve particular physical parameters in a mixture, rather than a particular composition. Thus in blending gasoline the method of the invention may be employed to attain a specified octane number, vapor pressure, or boiling point, which properties are only indirectly related to composition.

In the production of cement five compounds are of the utmost importance in cement quality. These are: tricalcium silicate, dicalcium silicate, tricalcium aluminate, tetracalcium aluminoferrite, and magnesium ovide. The first four compounds will here be indicated in abbreviated form as C38, C28, CSA and C4AF, respectively, and the last as MgO.

In the manufacture of cement, it is known that if a complete analysis of a clinker shows (2% of CaO 8% of SiOg, A% Of A1203 Of F6203 then it is possible to calculate the amounts of four of the above-mentioned cement compounds from the following formulas:

(Here the symbol (C4AF), for example, represents the percent of C4AF in the clinker.) Furthermore, if M is the percentage of MgO in the clinker, then (Mg0)=M (5) This is because the magnesium oxide does not react with the other oxides.

For the purpose of analysis it will be designated that the five raw materials used in cement manufacture contain calcium oxide in the following percentages: the first 61%; the second 62%; the third c3%; the fourth 04%; and the Then if we take x1 pounds of the first raw material, x2 pounds of the second raw material, x3 pounds of the third raw material, x4 pounds of the fourth raw material, and x5 pounds of the fifth raw material, then the mixture,

containingatotal of x1ixg+x3+x4+x5 pounds, will contain crzi+vtwa+csxa+ctrvt+c5r5 pounds of Cao Thatisfto say,l

%)(Cif1+CzIz-l-6swa+ciwt+05x5) =C poundsof CaO (6) Iiiasimilar'way we canwrite equations for theother oxides.'

m2,. arethe percentages.v of Fe203 A1203, SiOa, and MgO, respectively, in the lirst, second, third, fourth and fifth-,rawmaterial,` respectively. Now returning to Equations. land 5, we notethat by assigning values to. (C4AF), (CBA), (C2S), ,(CBS'), and (MgO)-that is,-by deciding that wev want tomanufacture a clinkerhaving certain specified characteristics-we automatically determine C, A, F, S, and M (the oxide percentages).` This means that for control purposes'we mayuseEquations- 6 to 9 rather thanEquations'lto 5. It willbe noted that C, A, F, S, andfMarepercentages calculatedon the;clinker or lossfree basis, while c, a, f, s, and mare raw material percentages.

The specific equations above can be generalized for any mixing process as follows:

npxll.' M4711) where a1 an represent the percentages of A in each of materialsxl.. xNand n1.. nn represent the percentages of Nin each of materials N. The symbols n and N are utilized .to ,indicatethat both` the numbers of materials and desired constituents are variable.

There are many methods for determining the percentages of the various oxides in the raw-mix and in the correction material. For example, the standard' wet chemical analytical method may be employed which would require about six hours to determine the percentages of the ve oxides in each of the five materials which are analyzed. This manner of testing would be appropriate where high speed correction is not required because rigorous control of the rst output is not necessary but is not appropriate where precision of final output is desired.

Where more accurate and higher speed methods are desired an optical method may be employed where a sample of the material is burned in an electric are or spark. Each element present then emits a light of characteristic wavelength. These wavelengths are separated in an optical system using slits with a prism or a ruled grating. The intensity of radiation at the characteristic wavelength is an accurate measure of the amount of the element present and may be measured either by exposing a photographic lm or by using a photo multiplier tube. The lm is inherently less accurate than the multiplier tube.

In the alternate method of X-ray spectroscopic analysis may be utilized. In this case a sample of each material of radiation at the characteristic wavelengthis an accurate measure of the amount of element present and may be measured witha geiger counter.

For the purpose of the present descriptionl theX-ray emission technique will be utilized for-automatic control. The count provided by the X-rays may beused to automatically control a computer which may then produce a highly accurate answer in a short period of time following the introduction of thedata thereto.

In terms of accuracy the optical equipment discussed above provides accuracy in the order of 3 of the amount present whereas the X-ray equipment may provide an accuracy as good as .3

From the description thus far it should now be apparent that the technique of the invention has several advantages over known techniques. Firstly, the correction material which is employed need not be stored in any great quantity so that the total material storage may be thereby reduced. The reason for this is that the correction technique `of the invention makes it unnecessary to pass the entire mix through the process. for re-analysis. That is,`

the correction process makes possible small changes which may also be performed at relatively high speed.

The net result is that theinvention makes possible not only a less expensive lprocess, but permits the produc- `tion of a higher quality product, since the testing andv computing contemplated by the invention may beper formed very accurately and at veryhigh speed.

Another feature of the invention is that it lends itself readily to automation. The general form apparatus for automatic control is illustrated in FIGURE 2. It will be noted therein that a processingfunit 200 receives raw materials, chemicals, water, etc., as well as electricity heat, etc., and produces products, by-products, and waste. Associated with the processing unit 200 are a pluralityr of transducers 220 which may correspond to the X-ray testing devices proposed for use in the cement process discussed above. Transducers 220 send signals to a computer 240 indicating certain analytical information which is required in the control of the process. Computer 240 maybecontrolled in partby an operator indicated as 260 who may also have some direct controllover the transducers. enter the information providedby the transducers into computer 24.V

The form of typical apparatus `for carrying out the mixing technique of FIGURE 2 is indicated in further detail in FIGURE 3. Here it will be-noted that raw vmaterial input is separated intotwo storagey devices, one

for correction referenced as 310 and one for rawmaterial reference as 320. The correction material storage device has means for conveying material therein (indicated as an illustration to include four materials) to a correspending number of material preparing devices referenced as P2, P3, P4, Pn.

Raw material storage device 320 is associated with means for conveying the material to raw mix preparing device P1, which is similar to any of devices P2 through Pn. These devices may include various grinding stages as indicated in the cement preparation method discussed with reference to FIGURE l. The material which is prepared in devices P1 through Pn is passed then for temporary storage to storage devices S1 Sn. Each of the storage devices then is associated with material gating means, referenced as G1 through Gn, associated with storage devices S1 through Sn, respectively. As indicated in FIGURE 3, these gating means are controlled lby signals received from the computer or an operator. In some applications the computer itself may be coupled to the gating 'means 360 to control the transfer of the samples automatically.

It will be noted that the coupling connections between That is operator 260 may uponoccasion the gating means and analytical equipment 350 are referenced as x1 through xn, respectively, corresponding to the mathematical equations introduced above. Analytical equipment 350 then is operative to produce signals indicating the relative percentages of the compounds which are desired in the final mix. These signals are transferred under the control of a signal or the operator toa computer 370.

Computer 370 then produces output signals which represent the amount of correction material of each type which must be transferred to the raw mix preparing devices, in order to compensate for deficiencies or excesses of certain compounds or elements. Computer 379 is coupled to conveying devices referenced as CZ, C3, C4, C11 which are adapted to effect transfer of correction materials from storage devices S2, S3, S4, Sn respectively to raw mix preparing device, P1.

`In operation the system of FGURE 3 may be continuous, since the computing function requires an amount of time of negligible magnitude compared to the physical transfer time of the raw material; that is, if the raw materials are prepared and corrected each hour and then sent out for use, the computer may operate to solve the various analytical problems involved during the hour and provide an answer Without delaying the transfer of the final mix.

From the foregoing description it should now be apparent that the present invention provides a novel and appropriate apparatus for mixing raw materials, where certain compounds or elements therein must be combined in predetermined percentages. It has now been established that the basic technique itself is advantageous in permitting the accurate mixing of raw materials and further in that it lends itself Very readily to automation, whereby materials may be mixed in steady iiow and accurately proportioned as desired.

While the description has been primarily concerned with the mixing of cement it has lbeen pointed out that it is easily applicable to the blending of gasoline, where the raw materials may vary in the percentages of certain compounds which are desired. It has also 'been indicated that other processes such as the making of alloys, glass, and food products may involve the same problem. It will be understood, therefore, that the appended claims are generic to any process which involves the mixing of raw materials having varying percentages of compounds or elements.

What is claimed as new is:

l. Apparatus for producing a mixture having predetermined percentages of certain compounds or elements comprising: first means for preparing and storing a raw mix approximating the desired percentages of said compounds or elements; second means, including a plurality of material preparing devices, for preparing and storing al corresponding plurality of correction materials, each correction material being selected to permit the correction of a deficiency or excess of a different one of said compounds or elements; third means operable to receive test samples and provide signals indicating the percentage contents of said compounds or elements therein; fourth means for Vselectively conveying said raw mix and each of said correction materials to said third means; fifth means including means deiining predetermined simultaneous equations, responsive to `said signals provided by said third means for solving said equations to determine the proper amounts of said correction materials needed for modifying said raw mix to compensate for any compound or element deficiency or excess therein; and Sixth means for conveying said needed correction materials to said first means.

2. The apparatus defined in claim l wherein said mixture is cement, said elements are calcium, iron, aluminum, silicon and magnesium, and wherein said compounds are the oxides of said elements.

3. Apparatus yfor correcting for deciencies or excesses of elements or compounds in a preliminary composition of amount x1 comprising: means for preparing amounts of correction materials x2, xn, each correction material being selected to correct for a different error in mixture of said preliminary composition; means for measuring the percentages of each of said elements of compounds in said preliminary composition and in each of said correction materials; means defining simultaneous equations expressing the relationship between said correction materials and said preliminary composition to develop a desired final composition; and computing means for solving said equations to determine the correction amounts x2 xn required for correcting the mixture error in said preliminary composition.

4. The apparatus dened in claim 3 wherein said computing means is arranged to solve the general equat-ions:

amounts x1 xn, and A N represent the desired amounts of said elements or compounds in the iinal composition.l

References Cited by the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS `569,622 8/58 Belgium.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING A MIXTURE HAVING PREDETERMINED PERCENTAGES OF CERTAIN COMPOUNDS OR ELEMENTS COMPRISING: FIRST MEANS FOR PREPARING AND STORING A RAW MIX APPROXIMATELY THE DESIRED PERCENTAGES OF SAID COMPOUNDS OR ELEMENTS; SECOND MEANS, INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF MATERIALS PREPARING DEVICES, FOR PREPARING AND STORING A CORRESPONDING PLUALITY OF CORRECTION MATERIALS, EACH CORRECTION MATERIAL BEING SELECTED TO PERMIT THE CORRECTION OF A DEFICIENCY OR EXCESS OF A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID COMPOUNDS OR ELEMENTS; THIRD MEANS OPERABLE TO RECEIVE TESTS SAMPLES AND PROVIDE SIGNALS INDICATING THE PERCENTAGE CONTENTS OF SAID COMPOUNDS OR ELEMENT THEREIN; FOURTH MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONVEYING SAID RAW MIX AND EACH OF SAID CORRECTION MATERIALS TO SAID THIRD MEANS; FIFTH MEANS INCLUDING MEANS DEFINING PREDETERMINED SIMULTANEOUS EQUATIONS, RESPONSIVE TO SAID SIGNALS PROVIDED BY SAID THIRD MEANS FOR SOLVING SAID EQUATIONS TO DETERMINE THE PROPER AMOUNTS OF SAID CORRECTION MATERIALS NEEDED FOR MODIFYING SAID RAW MIX TO COMPENSATE FOR ANY COMPOUND OR ELEMENT DEFICIENCY OR EXCESS THEREIN; AND SIXTH MEANS FOR CONVEYING SAID NEEDED CORRECTION MATERIALS TO SAID FIRST MEANS. 